New patio, offices coming to Lot U

Dev Thimmisetty

POSTED

The concession stands and restrooms near the soccer fields and Lot U are
undergoing renovations to create a new building with more expansive and updated
facilities that is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

The renovation project is part of a deal between UTD and the Lake
Highlands Girls Classic League, which uses the fields for their season games
that run from August to February. Both parties are funding the construction
project, said Doug Tomlinson, the assistant vice president for engineering and
construction at UTD.

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The initial restroom building was constructed in 2000 and the concession
stand was added in 2003. Since then, other than various repairs, there have
been no major renovations to either structures. Multiple student complaints
regarding the quality and quantity of the restrooms contributed to the push to
renovate the building, Tomlinson said.

“The restrooms predominantly were in (poor shape) — there weren’t enough
of them,” Tomlinson said. “They were old and needed to be updated. We’re
replacing what was there with much bigger ones.”

Instead of the previous total of six fixtures — including urinals and
stalls — in the old complex restrooms, the new building will have a combined
total of 25 fixtures in the men’s and women’s restrooms. Furthermore, the new
building will also have an expanded patio area and office spaces for the soccer
department, in addition to a renovated concession stand.

At the moment, the restroom-concession stand complex is the only toilet
area located near the fields other than the Activity Center and the portable
toilets. Tomlinson said the more remote Lot U should now have better access to
superior restroom facilities.

“It’s going to be a wow factor,” he said. “These are phenomenal
restrooms.”

Tomlinson
said another issue with the complex that needed to be fixed was its
infrastructure.

“The plumbing service that was out there was old, and we had to do
repeated repairs to the sewage system,” he said. “This project will include all
new sewer lines, water lines and power lines.”

In a separate initiative, the university is also renovating restrooms in
on-campus buildings. Restrooms in Green Hall have been renovated over the last
two years, and the restrooms on the fourth and fifth floors of the Jonsson
Building were rebuilt last summer, Tomlinson said.

“When people walk by this new building, they’re really just going to be
like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “It should be completed in late summer, just in time for
the fall semester.”

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